Election 2015 – Your Vote Impacts Alberta’s Future!

As Albertans go to the polls on May 5th, there are critical topics to consider that will set the course for future generations.

One of those – diversification – is a key solution discussed as a means of creating new economic opportunities and alternative forms of government revenue. Diversifying the energy sector is achieved in part by adding value to our raw energy resources to create higher value products. Enhancing value adding will help smooth out boom and bust cycles resulting from the often volatile energy industry.

Adding value to our energy products through more development in petrochemicals, refining, and upgrading is a natural fit. This builds upon Alberta’s existing strengths and has the greatest potential to achieve economic diversification. However, expanding value adding will not happen without a clear vision from the government backed by appropriate strategies and programs.

Where does your candidate and their party stand on adding value to Alberta’s energy sector? We encourage you to get involved in the debate, and make an informed decision!

Ask Your Candidate

Do you support diversifying Alberta’s economy by encouraging more value added production in our energy sector?

Would you support an overall strategy to ensure Alberta becomes a world leader in petrochemical and energy processing and manufacturing?

What specific programs or policies would you implement to achieve more energy value added production in Alberta?

Key Facts

Alberta is Canada’s leader in hydrocarbon processing located primarily in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland.

The manufacturing sector currently contributes over 20% of Alberta’s entire corporate revenue, and the petrochemical sector is a leader in this sector.

The hydrocarbon processing sector converts basic oil and natural gas into consumer ready products that we use on a daily basis including plastics, resins, fibers, fuels, and films.

Alberta is blessed with an abundant supply of energy. This includes natural gas from new shale gas deposits as well as products from the oilsands that are a cost advantaged feedstock for new petrochemical and oilsands processing developments.

There is currently $30 billion invested in this sector with the potential for an additional $25 to $30 billion over the next 10 to 15 years.

New value added development would create billions of dollars in new annual government revenues from corporate taxes as well as thousands of jobs and a boost to the overall economy.

The energy value added sector is not as impacted by swings in commodity prices the same way as the upstream oil and gas sector.

Did You Know?

Alberta’s Incremental Ethane Extraction Program supported $3.5 billion in investment based on the $350 million program. This includes NOVA Chemicals’ recent $1 billion investment.

Alberta’s Bitumen Royalty in Kind Program supported an $8.5 billion investment by North West Redwater Partnership to turn bitumen into high efficiency diesel and will be the only refinery in the world utilizing carbon capture and storage. The project will employ over 5,000 workers in the construction of the facility in 2016.

Williams Energy Canada’s proposed Propane Dehydrogenation and Polypropylene project would be a $2.5 billion investment and the only such facility in Canada. The project would turn propane into propylene a major building block of plastics.

Enhance Energy’s Alberta Carbon Trunk Line will be the world’s largest carbon capture and storage program and help recover over $15 billion in oil royalties.

Alberta’s Industrial Heartland has projects in place that will capture over 16.2 million tonnes of CO2 annually, which is the equivalent of taking over 3 million cars off the road.